This shoot was about the effect composition has on a photo and how putting time and thought behind your photo can really improve it. While touring Harewood House, I picked out small details and elements of the house, such as doorknobs and tassels, and took photos of them from many different angles. I have included below two photos of each object/scene to show and compare the difference composition can make to a photograph. I definitely have a favourite out of each pair of images which is shown on the left side below (the one I like less being on the right).
I preferred the left photo in this case because its sharpness really brought out its texture and the cracks and fades in the paint. This was added to by the highlight of the white coloured paint contrasting the dark wall beneath the pattern. I was not so keen on the right image because its blur took away the texture and detail of the paint.
I took three different photographs of this chair as I was not sure what I wanted to capture. My favourite is the one shown above. I preferred this to the photo shown to the right because much of the photo to the right was out of focus. Although the photo above contains parts which are out of focus such as the handle of the chair, there is still a good portion of the photograph in focus. I also prefer the above photograph to the other photograph (above right) because the sun caused the photo to be over - exposed on the arm and metal of the chair.
I really liked the specific and bold outlines in both the photographs above. I preferred the one to the left because it is straighter, however I also like the one to the right because, along with the dark b&w editing and angle the photo was taken at, it makes the door and the house look quite intimidating and powerful.
Of the photos below, I found the one on the right rather boring due to its straight on angle and dull editing. Nothing about it is eye catching and it is not a stunning photo, whereas I think the photo on the left shows the different levels of the door and almost leads you from one side of the photograph to the other.
The two photos above are rather similar, however I prefer the photo to the left because of its warmth appearing on the side of the handle due to the sun. I also find it is slightly over exposed on the right side of the image as I struggled to even out my contrast between light and dark. It also is rather plain and boring, due to the straight on angle I used.
I did not like the photo to the right (below) because it was not a very focused image and the sun had slightly over exposed many areas. It contained too much of the surroundings of the tassels, however I left this in to show and compare to the other photo on the left how cropped can affect and improve an image.
I really did not like the photo (above right) because it was sharp, did not show off the colour or shape of the object and and was again over exposed on the left side, a problem I struggled with in many of my Harewood photos due to the contrast of overwhelming sun coming through the windows into a very dark house. I loved the photo (above left) because by using a large aperture I managed to blur the background of the image so the photograph was focused on the intricate details and colour that I wanted to capture.
I liked both the photos below, however I preferred the one on the left because of the warmth of the sun shown on the doorknob and wood and colour reflected by the window. It was an interesting background and the colour suited the doorknob. When editing, I increased the sharpness of just the doorknob to make it stand out from the background. What I did not like about the photo to the left was the reflection of light bouncing off the window. I also do not think it shows the prettiness of the doorknob, which is what I wanted to capture, as well as the photo on the left does.
HAREWOOD
Experimentation: Composition